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Friday, July 26, 2013

Handmade Flashcards/Bokeh Crafting

Don't forget to follow the Kids Summer Craft Camp along on the KSCC Pinterest board where I will be pinning all of the posts. Also, I encourage you to take pictures of your own creations and use the hashtag #KidsSummerCraftCamp on Instagram or on Twitter! I'd love to see what you are up to!

The guest poster I am bringing to you today is an incredibly strong woman. I met Chenoa on my birth board back when we were pregnant with our January 2012 babies. Fate dealt Chenoa a different hand though because instead of getting a January 2012 baby, Chenoa had her baby at 25 weeks. Oh, you read that right, 25 weeks gestation. The approximately 230 women on our board were worried sick and I feel like we were all in the NICU with Chenoa and fighting with her for her sweet baby Sofia. I still get goose pimples thinking about those days.

Anyway, I was happy when Chenoa said she wanted to join this series because I love seeing the progress of Sofia (who is coming up on her SECOND birthday soon! Whoa). Chenoa started a blog about her journeys over at F is for Family and I'd love for you to check her out and follow her.

So please, without further adieu, I bring to you Chenoa.

Before I get started, I want to mention how thankful I am to have the opportunity to guest post for Sowdering About. It's hard to keep up with the craftiness of Randi's master level but I'll do my best!

There's nothing better than summertime! But summer in Florida means almost daily rain showers. Since Sofia, my 21 month old, has been working on her shapes lately, I came up with an idea to start using flashcards. I wanted to make them as kid friendly and interactive as possible. This turned into deciding to have the tiny toddler assist in making the final product

Problem numero uno, attention span, and number 2…most of her drawing/coloring is just scribble. Solution: bokeh inspired crafting. Using a circle punch, we created a multicolored abstract design that was kid friendly and using a cutout overlay, I was could "pretty it up" making Mommy happy. Here's the skinny on how we pulled it together.

What you need:

5x7 cardstock

Colored Paper

Shape/Design Printed on Cardstock

Multicolored Paper for circles

Circle Punch

X-Acto Knife

Glue Stick or Scrapbook Mounting Squares

My first set of steps were started during nap time.

1. I started out by using the X-Acto knife and cutting out the shape on my printed sheets and used the Circle punch to cut out all of the colored circles I felt that I needed.

2. I used the cutout to trace the shape onto my 5x7 card stock

This is when the tiny toddler joined the fun!

3. I placed all the circles we were using in a little pile next to my kiddo and as she selected the color she wanted to use, I added a mounting square to the back. I then asked her to place the circle on the shape. This was hit or miss as occasionally she would stick them in random places around the paper. Mounting squares worked best because I was able to "adjust" some of her placements. Older kids would be fine using glue sticks. The trick was to make sure that the circles over lapped the edges of the traced design.

4. After we filled in all the white space, I attached the overlay on top of the 5x7 card stock with the mounting squares. The overlay only shows the amount of circles that are needed.

5. After the overlay was secured, I assisted the tiny toddler to "write" the name of the shape below the picture. This is where we fell apart. As much as I wanted her to allow me to help…she was NOT a fan of the assistance. We may or may not have ended up in a minor meltdown which included me pulling out blank card stock and crayons, while I finished the lettering.

In hindsight, I may have over estimated her ability to except help and may opt to print the letters in the future. I already knew my handwriting would be a bit of a mess but thought her messy handwriting (like on the "star" and "square" card) would be cute. All in all we had fun with the project and have plenty of extra circles for another project. We are also hoping to do cards for colors and counting! Using a series of favorite shapes like, butterflies in different colors, or some other favorite theme, would make great wall art for older kids.

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Chenoa is a working Mom and proud Micro Preemie Mommy. The early arrival (15 weeks premature) of her first baby girl inspired her to begin blogging just 21 months ago. She now spends her days juggling work, Mommyhood and being a wife! Her blog has evolved from life in the NICU to everyday life of being a Micro Preemie Mommy from Occupational Therapy challenges to chasing a very busy toddler, who's just a little on the tiny side, she hopes to bring awareness to prematurity and the amazing miracles these tiny fighters are.Follow along at: F is for Family - Bloglovin - Facebook - Pinterest

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